Album · Compilation
The Best of 1990–2000
The Best of 1990–2000 is U2's second greatest hits collection, picking up where The Best of 1980–1990 left off in 1998. It came out in November 2002 and gathers material from the band's reinvention across the decade, the years of Achtung Baby, Zooropa, Pop and All That You Can't Leave Behind. It was issued on Island and Interscope, both as a single disc and as an expanded edition with a second disc of 14 B-sides from 1990 to 2000 plus a bonus DVD.
What makes it more than a tidy round-up is the extras. Two new songs were recorded for it: "Electrical Storm", which was released as a single, and "The Hands That Built America", which appeared on the Gangs of New York soundtrack. There are also new mixes of several tracks, along with "Hold Me, Thrill Me, Kiss Me, Kill Me" and "Miss Sarajevo", both 1995 releases. It reached number one in 13 countries.
The Best of 1990–2000: tracklist, credits and charts
16 tracks · 1:11:21Tracklist
- 1Even Better Than the Real ThingBono, Clayton, Edge, Jr.3:39
- 2Mysterious WaysBono, Clayton, Edge, Jr.4:02
- 3Beautiful DayBono, Clayton, Edge, Jr.4:05
- 4Electrical Storm (William Orbit mix)Bono, Clayton, Edge, Jr.4:37
- 5OneBono, Clayton, Edge, Jr.4:35
- 6Miss SarajevoBono, Clayton, Edge, Eno, Jr.4:30
- 7Stay (Faraway, So Close!)Bono, Clayton, Edge, Jr.4:58
- 8Stuck in a Moment You Can’t Get Out OfBono, Clayton, Edge, Jr.4:31
- 9Gone (new mix)Bono, Clayton, Edge, Jr.4:32
- 10Until the End of the WorldBono, Clayton, Edge, Jr.4:38
- 11The Hands That Built America (Theme from ‘Gangs of New York’)Bono, Clayton, Edge, Jr.4:57
- 12Discothèque (new mix)Bono, Clayton, Edge, Jr.4:40
- 13Hold Me, Thrill Me, Kiss Me, Kill MeU2 and Bono4:44
- 14Staring at the Sun (new mix)Bono, Clayton, Edge, Jr.4:48
- 15Numb (new mix)Bono, Clayton, Edge, Jr.4:21
- 16The First TimeBono, Clayton, Edge, Jr.3:44
- Produced by
- Brian Eno, Daniel Lanois, Steve Lillywhite, William Orbit, U2, The Edge, Flood, Mike Hedges, Bono, Nellee Hooper, Steve Osborne, Adam Clayton, Larry Mullen Jr., Paul Barrett, Howie B
- Recorded at
- Hanover Quay Studios, Totally Wired, Westland Studios, Windmill Lane Studios, The Leonard Hotel, Olympic Studios, The Factory, Wild Bunch Studio
- Recorded
- 1990–2002
- Mixed by
- Robbie Adams, Steve Lillywhite, The Edge, Flood, Daniel Lanois, William Orbit, Jeremy Wheatley, Tim Palmer, Carl Glanville, Mike Hedges, Mark “Spike” Stent
- Mixed at
- Scream Studios, The Leonard Hotel
- Engineered by
- Robbie Adams, Paul Barrett, Flood, Stephen Harris, Tim Palmer, Richard Rainey, Jake Davies, Carl Glanville, Iain Roberton, Ruadhri Cushnan, Danton Supple, Howie B, Mark “Spike” Stent, Ger McDonnell, Daniel Lanois
- Labels
- Interscope Records, Island/Interscope
- Length
- 1:11:21
Line-up
- Bono · guitar, vocals, synthesizer, background vocals
- Adam Clayton · bass guitar
- The Edge · guitar, keyboard, piano, background vocals, vocals, lead vocals
- Larry Mullen, Jr. · percussion, drums (drum set), background vocals
- Daniel Lanois · percussion, background vocals, guitar
- Brian Eno · synthesizer, keyboard, sampler, harmonium, piano
- William Orbit · keyboard · guest
- Passengers · guest
- Luciano Pavarotti · tenor vocals · guest
- Paul Barrett · brass · guest
- Rosie Nic Athlaoich · strings · guest
- Katie O'Connor · strings · guest
- Eimear O’Grady · strings · guest
- Una O’Kane · strings · guest
- Howie B · sampler · guest
- Marius de Vries · keyboard · guest
- Steve Osborne · keyboard · guest
Singles
- “Electrical Storm” · 21 October 2002
Peak chart positions
| Chart | Peak |
|---|---|
| UK Albums Chart · 2002 | 2 |
| US Billboard 200 · 2002 | 3 |
| Australian Albums (ARIA) · 2002 | 1 |
| Austrian Albums · 2002 | 1 |
| Belgian Albums (Flanders) · 2002 | 1 |
| Canadian Albums (Billboard) · 2002 | 1 |
| Danish Albums · 2002 | 1 |
| Dutch Albums · 2002 | 1 |
| Greek Albums (IFPI) · 2002 | 1 |
| Ireland 2 · 2002 | 1 |
All 23 charts
| Italian Albums · 2002 | 1 |
| New Zealand Albums · 2002 | 1 |
| Scottish Albums · 2002 | 1 |
| Spanish Albums (AFYVE) · 2002 | 1 |
| Swiss Albums · 2002 | 1 |
| Norwegian Albums · 2002 | 2 |
| Belgian Albums (Wallonia) · 2002 | 3 |
| Hungarian Albums · 2002 | 3 |
| Japanese Albums (Oricon) · 2002 | 3 |
| Finnish Albums · 2002 | 4 |
| German Albums · 2002 | 4 |
| Swedish Albums · 2002 | 6 |
| Portuguese Albums · 2002 | 47 |
Certifications
| Region | Certification |
|---|---|
| Argentina | 2× Platinum |
| Australia · 2002 | 2× Platinum |
| Austria | Platinum |
| Belgium · 2007 | 2× Platinum |
| Brazil · 2002 | Platinum |
| Canada · 2002 | 3× Platinum |
| Denmark · 2026 | 4× Platinum |
| Finland | Gold |
| France · 2003 | 2× Gold |
| Germany | Gold |
| Greece | Platinum |
| Hungary · 2003 | Gold |
| Italy · 2015 | Gold |
| Japan · 2002 | Gold |
| Mexico | Gold |
| Netherlands | Platinum |
| New Zealand | 4× Platinum |
| Poland · 2003 | Gold |
| Spain · 2005 | Platinum |
| Sweden · 2002 | Gold |
| Switzerland | 2× Platinum |
| United Kingdom · 2003 | 2× Platinum |
| United States | Platinum |
| Europe · 2008 | 3× Platinum |
Awards
- SNEP double gold album
From MusicBrainz, Wikipedia and Wikidata. Only what the sources record is shown.
68.9
Popularity (0–100, vs the whole vault)
767
ListenBrainz listeners
37k
Wikipedia views, last 12 months
63k
Deezer fans (all editions)
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1979
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1980
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1981
War
1983
Under a Blood Red Sky
1983
The Unforgettable Fire
1984
Wide Awake in America
1985
The Joshua Tree
1987
Rattle and Hum
1988
Achtung Baby
1991
Zooropa
1993
Zoo TV: Live From Sydney
1994
Pop
1997
Please: PopHeart Live EP
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The Best of 1980–1990
1998
All That You Can’t Leave Behind
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How to Dismantle an Atomic Bomb
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Releases and pressings
How we know the release date wikipedia 2002-11-05 vs 2002-10-30 (musicbrainz), 2002-11-04 (wikidata)
| Source | Date | Note |
|---|---|---|
| MusicBrainz | 30 October 2002 | |
| Wikipedia infobox | 5 November 2002 | |
| Wikidata | 4 November 2002 | |
| US release | 5 November 2002 | earliest US date |
| UK / Europe release | 4 November 2002 | earliest UK or European date |
29 editions
| Date | Country | Label | Barcode | Kind |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2002 | US | Interscope Records | 044006343808 | other |
| 2002 | AU | Island | 044006343501 | other |
| 2002 | ZA | Island | 6009143013131 | other |
| 2002 | CA | Island | 044006336121 | other |
| 2002 | TW | Island | 044006343808 | other |
| 2002 | BR | Island | 044006343501 | other |
| 2002 | NZ | Island | 044006343501 | other |
| 2002 | CA | Island | 044006343808 | deluxe |
| 2002 | AR | Island | 044006343808 | deluxe |
| 2002 | AU | Island | 044006336121 | other |
| 2002 | CL | Island | 044006343808 | other |
| 2002 | KR | Island | 8808678223248 | other |
| 2002 | CA | Island | 044006343808 | other |
| 30 October 2002 | JP | Island | 4988005316639 | original |
| 31 October 2002 | FR | Island | 00044006336220 | other |
| 4 November 2002 | GB | Island | 044006344300 | other |
| 4 November 2002 | GB | Island | 044006344300 | other |
| 4 November 2002 | XE | Island | 044006343501 | other |
| 5 November 2002 | US | Interscope Records | 044006343808 | other |
| 5 November 2002 | AU | Island | 044006343501 | other |
| 5 November 2002 | XE | Island | 044006343501 | other |
| 11 November 2002 | — | Island | 00044006336121 | other |
| 11 November 2002 | XE | Island | 044006336121 | other |
| 11 November 2002 | GB | Island | 044006336220 | other |
| 12 November 2002 | US | Interscope Records | 044006336121 | other |
| 21 November 2003 | JP | Island | 4988005352149 | other |
| 2005 | — | — | 602498699225 | other |
| 2017 | XW | UMC | 00602557407006 | other |
| 6 February 2019 | XW | UMC | 00602577470240 | other |
Cover art sources
coverartarchive · native: native 3000x3000
| Source | Size | Verdict |
|---|---|---|
| coverartarchive ✓ | 3000×3000 | native: native 3000x3000 |
| deezer | 1200×1200 | upscaled |
| fanarttv | 1000×1000 | upscaled |